As is often pointed out, knowledge is a two-edged weapon which can be used ________ for good or evil．

       A．similarly   B．properly   C．equally    D．widely

After more than a year of bitter political debate, President Obama sat down in the White House East Room on March 23 and signed the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law with a pen，and then another pen，and another．Obama used 22 pens to sign the $938 billion health care bill．

The practice of using different pens to sign important legislation（法规）dates at least as far back as Franklin Roosevelt．The reason is fairly simple．The pen used to sign historic legislation itself becomes a historical artifact．The more pens a President uses, the more thank-you gifts he can offer to those who helped create that piece of history．The White House often give pens to supporters of the newly signed legislation．When Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act in 1964, he reportedly used more than 75 pens and gave one of the first ones to Martin Luther King Jr．And in 1996, President Clinton gave the four pens he used to sign the Line-Item Veto bill to those most likely to appreciate the bill's consequence.

    Once they're given away, some pens end up in museums; others are displayed proudly in recipients'(接受者) offices or homes．But they sometimes appear again, like in the 2008 presidential campaign（竞选活动）, when John Macain promised to use the same pen given to him by President Reagan to cut pork from the federal budget．

Not every President goes for the multipen signature, however．President George W．Bush preferred signing bills with only one pen and then offering several unused "gift" pens as souvenirs．

We can learn from paragraph 1 that the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act        ．

       A．has been passed easily     B．was put forward one year ago

       C．becomes law in the USA D．is unimportant

How are the pens dealt with after being used by President Obama?

       A．Supporters of the newly signed legislation are likely to get some of them.

       B．Obama will keep them.

       C．They will be just set aside

       D．They will be sold to the public at a high price．

What can we learn about John Macain?

       A．He was ever President in the USA.

       B．He took part in the 2008 presidential campaign.

       C．He never used the pen given by Reagan.

       D．He was only concerned about his own business． 

What does this passage mainly tell us ?

       A．Obama signed the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act．

       B．It is a practice to use multiple pens to sign important legislation in the USA．

       C．Pens are necessary in the signature.

       D．All the presidents like the multipen signature.

课文填空（每空填一个词，满分15分）

Imagine this: You are twenty-one years old and a __________ graduate student at one top of the top universities in the world.

One day, your doctor tells you that you have an __________ disease and may not have more than twelve months to live.

Nor______ he let the disease stop him from living the kind of life he had always dreamt of.

Finally, the scientists test the theory to see if it matches what they have seen and if it can _________ future events.

If what they are observing can be tested in a __________ way, scientists will use experiments.

____________ editors and reporters make informed decisions about what events to report and how to report them.

The editor’s job is to keep the newspaper ____________ and interesting to the readers.

A reporter begins by __________ the people to be interviewed and then prepares questions.

The media can often help solve problems and draw attention to situations _________ help is needed.

The result is a better understanding of the world on all sides, leading to a future world where people from all countries are respected and different views and opinions are __________.

When you look around at buildings, streets, squares and parks, you will find them __________, planned and built in different styles.

Modernism was invented in the 1920s by a group of architects who wanted to change society with buildings that went ________ people’s feeling of ________.

_________ the fact that he used traditional materials, Gaudi was a modern architect.

Seen from the top, it looks as if the stadium is covered by a gray net of steel, and it looks just like a bird’s nest made of tree _________.

My father served in the army in        when he was in         .

A. 1950s; twenties                     B. the 1950s; his twenties

C. the 1950s; the twenties            D. 1950s; the twenties

More than one teacher ____ thought _______ of the boy.

A. has; highly     B. have;  highly      B.has; high        D. have; high

---Waiter! How soon can I get my food? I just have half an hour left before my train leaves.

   ---It       be ready in five minutes.

       A．may  B．should      C．could D．need

--- Are you a teacher?

    --- I        , but now I am working in a company.

       A．is      B．am    C．was   D．had

As a reward ______ his contribution ______ botany, John Banks had a flower named ______ him

A. for, for, for             B. for , to , after           C. for , for , after               D. of, to, for

Nothing says love like a dozen long – stemmed roses on Valentine’s Day. More than a million roses will be sold during this festival for lovers, the biggest day of the year for the nation’s rose industry. It’s going to remain the most popular flower because love never goes out of style.

Yes, a rose is a rose is a rose. But selling them is no longer a beautiful experience for traditional flower shops. Supermarkets now offer convenience to the busy and discount rose shops help those hopelessly in love save money. Roses only is a good example of a discount rose retailer that was transformed from a traditional shop to answer the challenge in the’ 90s.

Inside this store on Sixth Avenue near 40 th Street, contemporary white furniture and wall – to – wall mirrors give it an expensive look. Customers move about freely among the counters, looking eagerly at the roses in more than 50 colors from shelf to shelf. Some customers say it’s the high quality of the roses that attracts them there. “I spent $ 20 but the flowers looked like I paid 60 or 70 dollars,” says one customer.

Studies show more people are buying roses in ones, two and threes these days. In fact, more than half of all roses are sold in bunches of fewer than a dozen. But Roses Only's low prices encourage people to spend. Even on Valentine's Day, when the price of a dozen roses and delivery can soar as high as $150, 12 of Roses Only's most expensive flowers sell for just $35. The company's key to success is to hold prices down by controlling every link in the rose chain. It grows its own roses in the sunshine of the Andes Mountains. In addition, the company also sells other items such as ballons and stuffed animals.    

       While discount rose retailers are witnessing their business bloom, U.S. rose growers aren’t able to compete with the fierce foreign competition. More than 57% of roses sold in the USA are grown in other countries. The biggest foreign producers are Colombia and Ecuador, which accounted for almost 90% of the total imported last year. The trend has hurt domestic rose growers such as Johnson Flowers of California, considered to be this country's leading producer.

Now, instead of fighting overseas rivals, the Johnsons are trying to work with them. "We have a few big fighting overseas rivals, the Johnsons are trying to work with them. “We may also widen our business to include the service area and be a representative for overseas flower producers.”

       As a result of severe competition, those in the rose business long for the good old days, whereas ordinary people benefit from the low price.

60．What is the central theme of this text?

A．The US rose business is going from bad to worse in spite of the efforts made.

B．The rose will remain the most popular flower as love never goes out of date.

C．The rose business is trying to meet the challenges in the market to succeed.

D．The rose industry plays an important role in American economy.

61．How does Roses Only obtain success in the discount rose retailing field?

       A．By setting up more chain stores across the country.

B．By selling roses in supermarkets.

C．By selling high quality roses at a low price.

D．By selling roses by the dozen.